Lotería bazas is a simple trick-taking card game using lotería cards. Players create tricks according to their ideas of their own invention, and must win the other players over to their way of thinking. The player with the most convincing argument wins! The loop of play should resemble a family argument or political meeting.

• For around 3 to 6 players
• Duration of play: before things come to blows
• Needed: 54-card Lotería deck

Playing the game

Deal 5 cards to each player face-down. This is their hand.

Play starts from the dealer’s left and goes clockwise.

The player places one card from their hand face-up into the middle area.

When play has returned to the dealer and they play their card, players have 5 seconds to declare baza or paso (trick or pass).

Starting from the dealer’s left again, each player declaring baza announces a unifying concept that is shared by all the cards in the trick. (For example: all are birds, all are green, all are evil.)

Players then must agree on which baza is the best and most convincing. Players are encouraged to challenge, justify, debate the validity of each other’s arguments. When enough people are sick of talking about it, call a vote. Bystanders are encouraged to enter the discussion and vote on the outcome.

There is no ‘correct’ baza: the winning idea might be the most original, the funniest, or simply the most accurate.

Whoever wins the baza (has the best unifying concept) takes the cards and places them together in front of them.

The player to the left of the last dealer deals 1 card each. Play starts again to that dealer’s left and proceeds normally.

When there are no cards left to play, the player with the most bazas wins and can declare Lotería!